Exchange Risk

On March 15th, a suspected hacker address received 7,400 ETH from Tornado Cash, orchestrating liquidation events for CAKE and THE collateral that resulted in approximately $2.15 million in losses for Venus. The address manipulated THE price through complex operations, ultimately leading to the liquidation of its collateral on Venus, though substantial borrowed funds remain unpaid. Analysis suggests this event may have been a strategy employed to profit on a certain CEX.

Gate News reports that on March 15, Venus Protocol issued a security announcement stating that during the investigation of abnormal activity in the THE liquidity pool, preventive measures were taken to prevent further misuse, and all borrowing and withdrawal operations of THE tokens were immediately suspended. This measure will remain in effect until the investigation is concluded. Venus Protocol stated that other markets were unaffected and will continue to operate normally.

Taiwan prosecutors indicted cryptocurrency exchange "BiJing" and 10 other individuals, including its operators, for allegedly collaborating with fraud rings to commit fraud and money laundering involving 46 victims and over 150 million yuan in fraudulent amounts. The Zhang siblings may face up to 12 years imprisonment.

A $50M AAVE swap failed due to a significant price impact, despite the user confirming slippage warnings. Aave will refund $600K in fees, highlighting the need for improved user protections in DeFi trades, while CoW Swap functions correctly amid extreme market conditions.

The founder of Fantasy.top denies the allegations of refunds to angel investors, emphasizing that the company has been operating based on product revenue for the past two years and has not used investor funds. Some investors have stated they have not received the expected financial reports and are calling on the founder to take responsibility. The platform was once well-rated but has recently shifted to a prediction market, which still awaits further clarification from the official.

Fantasy.top faces accusations from angel investors, claiming the team went silent and refused to refund $50,000, sparking "soft Rug Pull" allegations. Founder Travis Bickle countered that the company operates based on product revenue and has not used investors' funds. Several well-known investors also reported experiencing similar situations.

YZi Labs stated on March 11th that CEA Industries is facing an operational crisis, lacking a key management team and infrastructure, with board oversight failing. YZi Labs demands the board publicly respond and investigate director Hans Thomas, while also terminating the agreement with 10X Capital Asset Management.

Gate News reports that on March 11, the U.S. Department of Justice is investigating how Iran is using a major global cryptocurrency exchange to circumvent U.S. sanctions. According to company documents and informed sources, an internal investigation into suspicious fund flows exceeding $1 billion was previously halted. These funds were channeled through the platform to a network that provides funding to Iran-backed terrorist organizations (including the Houthi rebels in Yemen). The investigation focuses on the movement of these funds on the platform and the associated compliance risks.

The Korea Financial Intelligence Unit has imposed sanctions on a certain cryptocurrency exchange for allowing users to transfer funds to unregistered overseas platforms and failing to implement KYC procedures, potentially facing a 6-month suspension of new customer services. The exchange previously lost $40 billion worth of Bitcoin due to operational errors and is now also under investigation for advertising regulation violations.

Gate News Announcement, March 10th, Hunan Financial Office confirmed that Yuzhi Financial Co., Ltd., under the name of "Virtual Asset Copy Trading," has completely "run away." Currently, police in various regions have opened channels for rights protection registration, and affected users can register through official channels.

Gate News reports that on March 10, the crypto community announced that Aethir's marketing director Masha Prusso was accused of having sourced women for Epstein. Meanwhile, community insiders revealed that Aethir has recently undergone large-scale layoffs, with several co-founders and executives leaving one after another, suspected of soft Rug pulling. It is also reported that Masha Prusso's personal website has been taken down recently.

JELLYJELLY tokens experienced an extreme divergence of 34% between the perpetual contract mark price and the on-chain spot price on March 10, suspected of price manipulation. Analysis shows a surge in open interest and a funding rate reaching -2% every 4 hours, indicating market instability and manipulation risk. Analysts warn investors that this situation could trigger significant price volatility and reflects structural risks during the integration process of decentralized and centralized exchanges.

Gate News Announcement: On March 9, the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of South Korea issued a preliminary notice to a certain CEX for suspected violations of the "Specific Financial Transaction Information Act," engaging in transactions with unreported overseas virtual asset service providers, and inadequate KYC procedures. The exchange has been temporarily suspended for "6 months with partial operation." Responsible personnel will be held accountable. This restriction mainly affects the virtual asset withdrawal function for new users. Existing users' KRW and crypto asset deposits, withdrawals, and trading are temporarily unaffected.

Cryptocurrency company BlockFills has suspended customer deposits and withdrawals due to worsening market conditions and legal disputes. They are currently evaluating a debt restructuring plan and have hired consultants to assist. Facing allegations from Dominion Capital and a temporary court injunction, BlockFills is seeking restructuring and improvements to its financial and governance mechanisms.

Flow Foundation and Dapper Labs have applied to the Seoul court to suspend the delisting of FLOW from major exchanges, following previous trading halts caused by cybersecurity incidents. Although the event did not affect user balances, it raised concerns about FLOW liquidity and investor confidence. The court will review this application.

Project Eleven's latest research indicates that under post-quantum cryptography, the current address generation methods used by encrypted exchanges may become invalid. The study shows that systems relying on hierarchical deterministic wallets cannot operate under the new standards, and exchanges will be unable to generate new addresses from public keys.

Flow Foundation has applied to the Korean court to suspend the delisting plans of major exchanges for FLOW tokens, citing that other global exchanges have resumed support after the incident. The security breach caused a 75% drop in the FLOW token's value, impacting its market supply and reputation, although the token remains tradable on other markets. If the court application fails, it could affect FLOW's liquidity in South Korea.

BlockFills seeks restructuring advice from consulting firm BRG and appoints Mark Renzi as Chief Transformation Officer, aiming to complete the restructuring, inject new capital, and implement governance controls. The company recently paused deposits and withdrawals due to market volatility and is facing legal proceedings.

Gate News Report, March 7 — According to community user feedback, Warden Protocol (WARD) appears to have rug pulled, with its token price plummeting 90% since being listed on a certain CEX Alpha section. It is reported that Warden Protocol was previously positioned as an intent-driven modular blockchain network, later shifting towards AI-related narratives. The project previously claimed that all three co-founders had backgrounds at a certain CEX.

Gate News Report, March 7th, cryptocurrency trading and lending company BlockFills has sought restructuring advice from consulting firm BRG. After halting withdrawals, BlockFills appointed BRG's Mark Renzi as Chief Transformation Officer. BlockFills' new management team aims to complete the restructuring, inject new capital, and implement new governance and financial controls.